Butterfly Panty

ABSTRACT

A woman&#39;s panty includes a crotch piece and two thigh bands attached to the crotch piece. When worn, the thigh bands sit below the wearer&#39;s hips and hold the crotch piece over the wearer&#39;s crotch.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/108,930, filed on Oct. 28, 2008, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure relates to garments, and more specifically, to women's panties.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

A difficulty with conventional women's panties is that outlines of the panties are visible through clothing. For example, conventional women's panties are usually constructed using front and back panels and three bands: one around each upper thigh (e.g., sitting on the upper thighs or sitting across each of the buttocks) and the other around the waist area (e.g., sitting around the waist or over the hips). However, when wearing light or fitted clothing, the bands of the panties can be quite visible, which can be considered to detract from a woman's appearance. For instance, the most fitted part of a pair of women's pants or a woman's skirt is usually the portion covering the buttocks, thus making the bands across each of the buttocks more likely to be visible through the clothing. In the case of women's dresses, one of the most fitted portions is the waist area, where a woman's body naturally curves inward, thus making the waist band of a panty more likely to be visible through the dress.

Thong underwear can partially solve this problem. Typically, thongs are constructed using a front panel and two bands: one around the waist area and the other in place of the back panel. The advantage of thongs is that bands around the thighs are no longer needed, which can eliminate some of the tendency for the panties to show through clothing. However, thongs still include a waist band, which can be visible. Moreover, although there are no longer bands across the buttocks, the back band of the thong is still often visible through clothing that is fitted in the buttocks area.

Another difficulty with women's panties is that they can be visible when worn with clothing that is low-rise, that is, clothing for the lower body that sits on the hips and below the waist, which has become an increasing trend in fashion. For example, the waist band of conventional women's panties and thongs can be visible above the top of low-rise clothing.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Applicants have developed a type of women's panty, referred to as a “butterfly panty.” Among other advantages, the butterfly panty can have lower visibility through clothing than conventional women's panties, for example. The butterfly panty is also not generally visible when worn with low-rise clothing.

In general, in one aspect, the invention features a woman's panty that includes a crotch piece and two thigh bands attached to the crotch piece. When worn, the thigh bands sit below the wearer's hips and hold the crotch piece over the wearer's crotch. The panty can include one or more of the following features. For example, the thigh bands can include an elastic material. The crotch piece can include a top layer and a bottom layer, wherein when worn, the top layer sits against the wearer's skin while the bottom layer faces away from the wearer.

Other features and advantages will be evident from the figures, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the butterfly panty.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of the butterfly panty.

FIG. 3 is a top view of an embodiment of the butterfly panty.

FIG. 4 is a back view of the butterfly panty of FIGS. 1-3, showing the panty being worn.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the butterfly panty of FIGS. 1-3, showing the panty being worn.

FIG. 6 is a front view of an embodiment of the butterfly panty.

FIG. 7 is a side view of an embodiment of the butterfly panty.

FIG. 8 is a top view of an embodiment of the butterfly panty.

FIG. 9 is a back view of the butterfly panty of FIGS. 6-8, showing the panty being worn.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the butterfly panty of FIGS. 6-8, showing the panty being worn.

FIG. 11 is a back view of an embodiment of the butterfly panty, showing the panty being worn.

FIG. 12 is a front view of an embodiment of the butterfly panty, showing the panty being worn.

FIG. 13 is a front view of an embodiment of the butterfly panty, showing the panty being worn.

FIG. 14 is a back view of an embodiment of the butterfly panty, showing the panty being worn.

FIG. 15 is a back view of an embodiment of the butterfly panty, showing the panty being worn.

FIG. 16 is a front view of an embodiment of the butterfly panty.

FIG. 17 is a back view of an embodiment of the butterfly panty.

FIG. 18 is a front view of the butterfly panty of FIGS. 16-17, showing the panty being worn.

FIG. 19 is a back view of the butterfly panty of FIGS. 16-17, showing the panty being worn.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 5, in general, a butterfly panty 10 includes a crotch portion 11, worn in-between the legs, and thigh bands 12 and 13, worn around the thighs just below the hips. Generally, thigh bands 12 and 13 have some elasticity to them, enabling them to hug the wearer and hold crotch portion 11 in place.

In general, a variety of differing constructions of crotch portion 11 and thigh bands 12 and 13 can be used. For example, in the embodiment shown in the figures, crotch portion 11 is made of two layers: top layer 18 and bottom layer 19. When worn, top layer 18 sits against the wearer's skin, while bottom layer 19 faces away from the wearer.

In some embodiments, thigh bands 12 and 13 each have two ends 14, 15 and 16, 17, respectively, that are attached (e.g., stitched) to crotch portion 11. Thigh band 12 is attached to crotch portion 11 by inserting ends 14 and 15 in-between layers 18 and 19 of crotch portion 11. Similarly, thigh band 13 is attached to crotch portion 11 by inserting ends 16 and 17 in-between layers 18 and 19 of crotch portion 11.

Alternatively, in certain embodiments, thigh bands 12 and 13 are each in the form of a continuous loop of material. For example, thigh bands 12 and 13 can be formed by stitched two ends of a length of thigh band material together. In such embodiments, thigh bands 12 and 14 can be attached to crotch portion 11 along edges 20 and 21 of crotch portion 11, respectively.

Alternatively, thigh bands 12 and 13, as continuous loops, can be threaded between layers 18 and 19 of crotch portion 11.

In the foregoing embodiments, thigh bands 12 and 13 and crotch portion 11 are formed from separate pieces of material. However, more generally, other constructions are also possible. For example, in some embodiments, bottom layer 19 of crotch portion 11 and thigh bands 12 and 13 are made of a single seamless piece of material. Layer 18 is then attached on top of bottom layer 19. The lack of seams can be advantageous, for example, by providing a panty that has a smooth finish that is not visible through clothing.

In general, a variety of different materials can be used for the various portions of butterfly panty 10. As discussed previously, in general, thigh bands 12 and 13 generally include a material that has some degree of elasticity. For example, thigh bands 12 and 13 can be made from Cotton, Lace, Nylon, Spandex, Microfiber, Mesh, Polyester, Rayon, Silk, Polyurethane, Vinyl or other conventionally-used natural or synthetic clothing material including blends of materials.

In general, bottom layer 19 and top layer 18 can be formed from the same materials or different materials. Bottom layer 19 and/or top layer 18 can be formed from natural fabrics such as cotton, or synthetic materials such as spandex. In some embodiments, bottom layer 19 of crotch portion 11 is made from a protective material (e.g., relative to the material used for top layer 18), which top layer 18 is made from a material that is more comfortable against the wearer's skin, such as cotton. The material forming top layer 18 can also be selected based on other characteristics, such as its ability to absorb moisture. Examples of materials that can be used for top layer 18 and/or bottom layer 19 include Cotton, Lace, Nylon, Spandex, Microfiber, Mesh, Polyester, Rayon, Silk, Polyurethane, Vinyl or other conventionally-used natural or synthetic clothing material including blends of materials.

The butterfly panty can incorporate decorative features, for example, decorative fabrics such as lace, decorative trims, attached decorative elements such as bows, or other decorative features such as decorative stitching. The butterfly panty can be made in any color or combination of colors. For example, referring to FIGS. 6 through 10, thigh bands 12 and 13 can include a lace material having a stretch component. Thigh bands 12 and 13 can also be made of other decorative material, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

Referring again to FIGS. 4 and 5, thigh bands 12 and 13 are worn around the upper thighs below the hips. This can prevent the thigh bands from showing through clothing, which is usually most fitted in the buttock area.

Referring to FIGS. 13 through 15, the butterfly panty can also be worn in a manner where thigh bands 12 and 13 are worn arched upward in the front, as shown in FIG. 13, and in the back worn either below the buttocks, as shown in FIG. 14, or across the buttocks, as shown in FIG. 15.

In general, crotch piece 11 can be made in a variety of shapes, sizes and thicknesses. For example, crotch piece 11 may have a tapered shape (e.g., triangular or trapezoidal), as shown in FIGS. 3 and 16 through 19. Tapered crotch pieces can provide more coverage of the wearer's crotch area than crotch pieces that have a substantially constant width along its length. Crotch piece 11 can also have different lengths, where a longer crotch piece 11 extends further up the wearer's front, as shown in FIG. 18, than a comparably shorter crotch piece.

Referring to FIG. 1, in some implementations, thigh bands are sandwiched in between two layers of material of inseam. For example, the top material for the inseam can be lined with cotton and the bottom material, the body of the product.

Referring to FIG. 2, a typical implementation of a seamless cut version will not have any seams. Instead, it will be one seamless piece.

A number of embodiments have been described. Other embodiments are in the following claims. 

1. A woman's panty, comprising a crotch piece and two thigh bands attached to the crotch piece, wherein when worn, the thigh bands sit below the wearer's hips and hold the crotch piece over the wearer's crotch.
 2. The woman's panty of claim 1, wherein the thigh bands comprise an elastic material.
 3. The woman's panty of claim 1, wherein the crotch piece comprises a top layer and a bottom layer, wherein when worn, the top layer sits against the wearer's skin while the bottom layer faces away from the wearer. 